


Overworked

by yamayamawrites



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, Some angst, started as a one shot but maybe an ongoing fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23650513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamayamawrites/pseuds/yamayamawrites
Summary: Kageyama has been going above and beyond even what he and Hinata count as training lately. Hinata gets worried that he'll overwork himself to the point of permanent damage.In which Kageyama and Hinata are second years, and also complete idiots.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 5
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks for reading! I decided I wanted to write some Haikyuu! after going back and re-watching the first two seasons. I started this as a one-shot but I might make it into a fic - I'm still not sure. Let me know if you want to see more!

Before Kageyama, Hinata had nothing, and he always had a hard time admitting that. Before him, his gymnasium was the soccer field, the corner of the gym, hell, the street outside his house; and after, though Hinata knew Kageyama didn’t build the Karasuno High gym with his own two hands, it still felt as though Kageyama had gifted him with it. As if Kageyama handed him the intangible concept of a safe space to practice volleyball, and to play side by side with a man who would gradually become his best friend.

Hinata had made speeches to the team before regarding their team status and how he’d never felt that same closeness. He felt like Kageyama was similar in that sense, too. Considering where they came from, in a way neither of them really had a team to rely on; Hinata’s was a conglomeration of friends he’d simply worn down, Kageyama’s a team that revolted against the tyrannical king he’d been trained to be. Together they discovered what a team actually meant, from the actual game to the activities away from the court.

It was at one of these events that Hinata began to fear Kageyama’s tendency to push himself to the absolute brink. They were nearing the end of their second year, and tournaments were rolling around once more. Nishinoya and Tanaka put together a team dinner several nights before their first tournament game to calm the nerves of the especially jittery new first years, as well as the always-jittery Hinata. Hinata wasn’t worried about the upcoming tournament, however; he was worried about the physical and mental capacity of his partner and – dare he say – his friend.

When Kageyama arrived, he looked exhausted. His face was slicked with sweat and he was wearing workout clothes, and Hinata immediately had the nerve to punch him. “Oi!” he shouted as Kageyama came into the room, bowing his head and thanking Noya and Tanaka for hosting. Kageyama flinched, knowing full well what he was in for; Hinata just wouldn’t lay off him these days. “What’s with the getup?”

“I decided to take a jog,” Kageyama replied simply. That wasn’t entirely false; however, the jog that Kageyama had taken was a nearly five-mile loop, most of which he’d been sprinting rather than jogging.

“Kageyama, we already practiced twice today. You’re going to overwork yourself.” Hinata was surprised to hear those words coming from Tanaka and not himself.

“Sorry, Tanaka senpai,” Kageyama bowed deeply. His use of ‘senpai’ pleased Tanaka so much that he completely forgot what he’d been saying. Hinata didn’t forget, however, as Kageyama huffed and threw himself onto the couch next to Hinata.

They’d never _not_ been close to each other, which was partly what made this so infuriating to Hinata. Kageyama wouldn’t explain why he was working so hard, or what he was working towards. Hinata had been right beside him in the beginning – working harder and harder at perfecting their quicks, running extra miles after practice for endurance – but before he knew it, meeting Kageyama at the gym for their morning workout meant walking in on Kageyama practicing his jump serve without him or practicing setting without him.

The worst part was that Kageyama acted like nothing was wrong with this. That infuriated Hinata the most.

Just as Hinata was about to broach the topic, Nishinoya proudly announced to the group that dinner would be ready soon, and that afterwards they would watch a movie. The rest of the team cheered aside from those two. Hinata watched Kageyama’s expression carefully; just like learning to watch for signals on the court, he’d learned a few signals for Kageyama’s mood outside of volleyball. For instance, the corners of Kageyama’s mouth turned up if he was happy. And…his brows furrowed if he was concentrating, or upset, or pretty much anything else.

It was a process, and Hinata was still learning.

They thanked Noya and Tanaka for the meal, which hadn’t really been cooked by neither Noya nor Tanaka. Yachi poked her head out of the kitchen area and waved timidly to the group. Since she’d joined the team as manager, she’d become greatly involved in everything that she could. She even took the time to learn everyone’s favorite side dish, which she happily presented to the team now as she laid the food out on the coffee table in the crammed living space.

Kageyama and Hinata reached at the same time to grab their food, and Kageyama pulled back. Did he flinch? Hinata watched his face, trying to tell what expression _that_ was; he’d never seen Kageyama blush like that. Was he sick? Did he overwork himself so hard that he ended up getting sick? That idiot!

“Oi, Bakageyama,” Hinata muttered as the rest of the team chatted idly over supper. “We need to talk.”

“About?” Kageyama responded in his typical cold voice. At least that hadn’t changed. When his voice didn’t change, he usually wasn’t upset. Or he was very upset. Hinata had a hard time telling between the two.

“Your training.”

Kageyama audibly gulped. “What about it?”

“You look like you’re working yourself to death. I mean, look at you,” he gestured to Kageyama’s face.

“That’s my face, moron!” Kageyama shouted now, getting the attention of the group. Seeing Kageyama yelling at Hinata, though, their attention returned to their meals; this wasn’t out of the ordinary for them.

Hinata had learned over the years to not shy away from Kageyama when he shouted. During their first year of high school, Kageyama had seemed much more intimidating than he did now. He scooted a bit closer to Kageyama, until their thighs touched; it wasn’t out of the ordinary for them, but for some reason Kageyama moved away from him and his cheeks turned red again. Hinata raised an eyebrow. What was _wrong_ with him?

“Let’s talk later,” Kageyama replied as he stood from the couch. “I should head home and get some rest, anyway.”

Before Hinata could stop him, Kageyama grabbed his things and left, thanking Noya and Tanaka one last time for hosting. Hinata scowled, a face that he had become more used to making as he watched Kageyama overwork himself, and leaned back into the couch. Nothing to be done about it tonight, he told himself, but that didn’t stop him from visiting Kageyama after the movie.

* * *

Kageyama hadn’t gone straight home from there. He’d decided to take yet another run, despite his calves burning with his other workouts that day. Whenever he crawled into bed at night, he passed out nearly the second his head touched the pillow. That was how he liked it. Just recently, he’d begun daydreaming about his orange-haired partner, and it drove him crazy. He imagined things one shouldn’t imagine about their spiker.

It started innocently enough. Kageyama wondered how soft Hinata’s hair was. That’s normal, right? He decided to ruffle Hinata’s hair after a particularly good play during a practice match. He remembered the way Hinata smiled up at him, bright as the sun itself, and a certain heat radiated off him and settled in Kageyama’s chest. He felt…warm. Something he wasn’t used to feeling, despite the heat of the gymnasium they had their practice game in. He felt warmed from the inside, like having hot cocoa during the winter. But the feeling was stronger, and more prominent. It lasted through the rest of the match, and it confused Kageyama. He nearly did it again, but the feeling he got the first time made him wonder if he’d explode the next time.

Hinata never mentioned it, but his demeanor towards Kageyama changed after that. Hinata seemed to want to be close to him more often, subconsciously or not. And honestly, Kageyama wanted that, too. That evening he went home, content and somehow still craving more. He’d just wanted to know what Hinata’s hair felt like, and he’d gotten that. What else could he need?

His thoughts escalated. He wanted to feel Hinata’s calloused palm in his own. It freaked him out, the way his mind wandered when it wasn’t occupied. During class, when he took water breaks at practice, on his walk home. He was scared of himself; when he’d wanted to know what Hinata’s hair felt like, he just reached out and felt without thinking. Would the same happen now? Would he reach out and grab for Hinata’s hand the same way he’d done for his hair? He couldn’t let that happen – what would Hinata think of him?

He started using excessive workouts as a distraction. Even when he stopped to catch his breath, he thought about Hinata – what he would look like doubled over, covered in sweat. He already knew. He’d been playing volleyball with Hinata long enough that he knew. So why did he want to see Hinata, slicked with sweat, underneath him?

And how come, after his sprints, after two volleyball practices, after practicing serves for over two hours by himself – how come he laid in bed, unable to sleep? How come he imagined Hinata cradled against his side, his breathing slowing as he fell asleep with him?

He was startled out of those thoughts by the sound of his phone ringing. _Jesus, who’s calling me this late?_ Kageyama thought stubbornly. He debated not answering – until he saw the name on the screen. _Fucking Hinata. Doesn’t he know I’m trying to sleep?_

Of course Hinata knew. That’s why Hinata called. He wouldn’t let Kageyama go to bed until he got an answer he was pleased with. It infuriated him, but it also somehow calmed him. Hinata cared about him, and though Kageyama was scared to show it as of late, he cared just as much about his orange-haired teammate.

“Hello?” Kageyama attempted to make his voice sound slurred from sleep.

“Oi, come let me in.”

“What?!” Kageyama sat straight up. He flinched; his abs were sore from yesterday’s workout still.

“I’m outside. Come let me in. I know your mom’s working tonight.”

God, he hated how much Hinata knew about his home life. But, then again, did he?

Kageyama fought an internal battle of whether or not he appreciated Hinata’s concern as he padded to the front door. He wore nothing more than slippers and a pair of boxers, which he became painfully aware of when the cool night air settled on his chest and legs. He blushed again and was ready to slam the door when Hinata let himself in, seemingly uncaring that Kageyama was practically naked.

“Go put a shirt on, ‘Yama,” Hinata said seriously. Kageyama didn’t know if Hinata had ever been so serious off the court. It made him nervous. Still, he rushed to his bedroom, thankful for the excuse to step away from the boy in question. His heart was racing and he still couldn’t believe that Hinata had just shown up on his doorstep – and yet yes, he could believe that, because it was a very Hinata thing to do.

Hinata had made himself comfortable in the living space by the time Kageyama returned. Also a very Hinata thing to do. With the amount of times Hinata had invited himself over or invited Kageyama over to practice quicks or to study or even just to hang out, like friends do, Kageyama learned quickly that Hinata made himself comfortable wherever he could. Hinata had dropped his bag off by the door, along with his shoes, and he sat on the couch with his legs crossed. He watched Kageyama carefully as he came back, observing the way his legs strained to move him, and it was proof enough that Kageyama had once again done something stupid.

“Oi, quit staring at me like that!” Kageyama yelled, but it had no bite. After all, his body had begun to shut down for the day. His limbs had fallen asleep earlier, it was his mind that kept him up. Kept him waiting for a phone call from Hinata.

“Sit down.”

Hinata’s serious tone _really_ did something to Kageyama, and he didn’t quite understand it. Some sort of desire for something settled within him every time the boy spoke in such a deep, calm tone. He was used to the bubbly Hinata that shrieked on the court with a kind of voice that lit up a room, that you could hear from miles away. This voice, it sounded like it was only meant for his ears, and it crawled up his spine, leaving shivers. Still, he feared it somewhere within himself. Hinata sounded upset.

“What’s wrong?” Kageyama asked, lowering himself into a chair opposite his partner. He really didn’t want to end up reaching for his partner right now. He had no idea what a physically and mentally exhausted Kageyama might try if not protected by distancing himself.

Hinata watched him wince as he sat. “Damn it,” he grumbled. “Damn it!”

“Hey, Hina—”

“You dumbass!” Hinata stood now, his voice slowly creeping up the octaves until it was that voice that always called for Kageyama to “bring it to me”. But Kageyama didn’t like it, now; he didn’t sound excited, he sounded angry. Because he _was_ angry. That scowl wasn’t from concentration, it was Hinata being angry, hurt, and frustrated all at once.

“Hey, knock it off—”

“No, stupid! You went for another run, didn’t you?”

Kageyama hung his head shamefully. Sure, pushing himself to undesirable limits distracted him, but at what cost? His body constantly ached, and his legs felt as though if he tried to jump to block, he would melt the second he touched back down to the ground.

Hinata didn’t wait for a response to continue talking. “You can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep avoiding me, you can’t keep working out until you nearly die. What is it? Do you feel like you’re not good enough? Because that sure as hell isn’t the problem here, Tobio!”

Kageyama knew it was serious, now. Hinata had only used Kageyama’s name one other time, and it was after a rather brutal loss; after Kageyama had hesitated on tossing to Hinata because he’d just come back into the game after a minor injury during the first set. It had cost them the game – and Hinata wasn’t angry because the toss didn’t go to him, he was angry because Kageyama sent their miracle toss to _Tanaka._

The setter opened his mouth to speak. Hinata watched him with a patience that he didn’t understand. He tried to imagine what he’d do if Hinata were in his shoes, and in every scenario he imagined screaming at the boy the day he found out Hinata was pushing himself hard enough to be so drained that he couldn’t even bring a fork to his mouth. “Hinata…I’m sorry.”

Hinata’s expression softened. More than that, his entire demeanor changed. He hadn’t expected an apology; rather, he expected a weak rebuttal of how Kageyama needed to stay fit to remain the genius setter he was, yadda yadda. Kageyama wasn’t one to cry, but in this moment he looked like he might, and suddenly Hinata feared he didn’t have the experience to help calm him. So he crossed the room and placed a hand on Kageyama’s cheek. “Hey,” he murmured. He’d seen his mother do this with Natsu when she had a bad dream or stubbed her toe.

Kageyama looked away from him, cheeks burning, but he didn’t have the energy to push himself away. What was Hinata doing? As he contemplated this, Hinata bent down to be eye level with him, and he found himself unable to keep from looking his partner in the eyes. “Kageyama, I’m just worried,” Hinata mumbled. His voice had dropped again, not to the serious tone just yet, but to the point that once again Kageyama felt some sort of desire clawing at him. His eyes settled on Hinata’s lips and he briefly thought about how dangerous of a situation this was, particularly for Hinata, because he was unsure the amount of control he could display.

“I told Tanaka san before I left that you and I would be doing a special training tomorrow,” Hinata said, removing his hand from Kageyama’s cheek. Suddenly Kageyama felt cold, and that desire grew; when Hinata had touched him, it seemed satisfied, if only a little. Hinata padded back across the room and settled again on the couch. “You’re so overworked, and I’m so worried about you.” Hinata’s voice cracked. He choked back tears, and Kageyama suddenly felt an immense pressure of guilt sitting on his shoulders. He made Hinata cry; he made him so nervous, so worried, that he cried.

“Hey,” Kageyama tried to get up, to comfort his friend, but his legs seized up and he fell to the ground in a pitiful heap. Hinata was at his side in a moment, not attempting to help him up, but instead letting his fingers flutter across his back.

“How much tension is in your back?”

“Eh?”

Hinata threw one leg over Kageyama’s waist and promptly sat on his partner’s butt. “I’m going to give you a massage, idiot. This wouldn’t be necessary if you hadn’t worked yourself to death.”

Before Kageyama could call Hinata a name, or tell him _please for the love of everything get off of me, I’m in some sort of mood that just makes me want to touch you_ , Hinata began kneading his palms into Kageyama’s back.

The sensation brought a new type of pain – one that felt like, the second it passed, everything would feel immensely better. And Kageyama was right. Once Hinata kneaded out one knot in his back, he moved to another, and Kageyama really couldn’t ask for a better teammate at this point. Though, the groans he made were less than desirable; it really sounded like he was getting jerked off by his teammate.

Why did that sound appealing?

Kageyama was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t understand what the noises were doing to Hinata. By the time they finished their first year, Hinata had just an inkling of suspicion that maybe he felt some degree of attraction towards Kageyama. That suspicion was quickly buried under mountains of abandoned emotions, and Hinata almost thought he’d gotten over it, until now. His body filled with a certain heat, anticipation maybe, of something that most certainly couldn’t happen – wouldn’t happen.

And the way Hinata’s body reacted really, truly upset him.

Hinata quickly stood up, leaving Kageyama to glance up at him with a confused expression as he yelled “Bathroom!” and ran down the hall. Kageyama found the strength to roll over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. Was Hinata taking a long time in there, or was he really, really tired?

By the time Hinata returned, Kageyama had fallen asleep. Hinata groaned. Couldn’t it at least have been on the couch? If Kageyama really slept on the floor, it would ruin all the progress he’d made. Honestly, that wouldn’t be so bad, it would give him another chance to feel Kageyama’s back muscles and –

God, he was disgusting.

Hinata leaned down. “Oi, Kageyama,” he murmured, gently shaking his partner’s shoulder. Kageyama didn’t move. “Kageyama!” Hinata said louder, shaking harder. Still, he slept on. “Tobio!” he shouted finally, and whether it was the volume or the way Hinata said his name that woke Kageyama, he didn’t know – nor did he care. Kageyama was awake, and that was enough.

“Hey, sleepy, let’s get you to bed,” Hinata said, helping Kageyama up. The pained noise that escaped his partner’s lips didn’t go unnoticed, and Hinata was glad he’d had the foresight to tell Tanaka he and Kageyama wouldn’t be practicing the next day.

Kageyama didn’t protest as Hinata supported him all the way to the bedroom. He acted as a cane; Kageyama relied on him after his leg seized up again, causing him to make a noise of pain. It hurt Hinata, too; not just because Kageyama was heavy but because Kageyama was _hurt_ and Hinata should have acted sooner.

Hinata was careful when he guided Kageyama to the bed. Still, Kageyama flopped down onto it like a fish, and Hinata probably would have laughed if he wasn’t so worried about the current condition of his setter. _My setter,_ he thought, blushing. _He’s not just my setter, but god do I wish he was._

Kageyama fell asleep again quickly, and Hinata knew that if he didn’t stay here Kageyama would probably wake up and try to go for a run. He wasn’t a fan of sleeping on Kageyama’s couch – he’d done it once after working on their quick for hours in Kageyama’s backyard, and even though he was only asleep for a couple hours his back had been sore for days. Still, he tried to get as comfortable as possible sprawled out on the couch, curled up with a blanket draped over the side, and went to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Kageyama did exactly what Hinata thought he might. He heard the sound of Kageyama trying to creep quietly across the room, not because he could hear his footsteps, but he could hear the occasional “ouch!” and the grunts of pain. Hinata sat upright and locked eyes with Kageyama, who stopped in his tracks with a look of embarrassment.

“Where ya goin’?” Hinata asked in a mock-sweet tone.

“Um…practice?”

“I told Tanaka san we were taking the day off.”

Kageyama huffed and something of a pout settled onto his face. Hinata would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so serious. “Kageyama – “

“Shou, please, stop it,” Kageyama had resorted to begging. And using first names, apparently. Though occasionally Hinata called Kageyama ‘Tobio’, this was the first time Kageyama had referred to him as ‘Shouyo’, and that alone was enough to make Hinata’s cheeks redden and his face burn with embarrassment and delight.

“Stop what, stupid?”

“Protecting me. I’m fine.”

“Look at yourself!” Hinata cried finally. Kageyama was bracing against a table for fear that he might fall at any second. “Do you really think you should be working out right now? Tell me honestly, Tobio, is this even what you _want_?”

Kageyama was taken aback by the accusation. And yet, somehow, he saw right through him. The setter scoffed and looked away, towards his arm straining to support his weight while he leaned up against the table. “No,” he replied finally, in a soft voice that felt so far away from Hinata. “No, I don’t want this.”

Hinata actually felt surprised. Kageyama sounded defeated by his question. “Oi—”

“I don’t want,” Kageyama cut him off, speaking louder now, “to think about you the way I do. Shouyo, I can’t _stop thinking about you._ It’s driving me insane. The only thing that helps me keep my mind off you is working so goddamn hard that the second I come home I fall asleep. And then, it’s not even a guarantee that I won’t dream about you.”

Neither of them had expected that to be what Kageyama said, but somehow when he laid it out in front of them, Kageyama felt much calmer. He felt like he was soaring…or was he falling? No, he was definitely falling.

“Kage—” Hinata squeaked out, trying to stand as he saw Kageyama’s arm wobble and, finally, collapse under the rest of his weight. He helped his partner off the floor, contemplating what he’d said. “You – think about me? A lot?”

“Too much,” Kageyama realized what he was saying now, but he wouldn’t turn back. Maybe this was the only way to get it to stop. “You’re the only friend I’ve ever had and it’s weird and I don’t think I should think about you this much – that’s not normal, is it?” Kageyama genuinely didn’t know, and for some reason that made Hinata pity him.

“Um, not usually,” Hinata responded sheepishly. He would be lying if he said he never thought about Kageyama, though. Sometimes after a long day of practice or a good practice match, Hinata would come home and relay the events, wondering how he and his partner would celebrate such a good win if they would just go home together. It wasn’t sexual at first, and Hinata cringed at that, _at first_ , because he never expected it to get sexual. But on that abandoned hill of emotions were so many thoughts about Kageyama that Hinata had just shoved away as far as possible to continue to operate as a human being that most certainly wasn’t into his setter.

_My setter._

Kageyama groaned underneath him, and whether it be from pain or embarrassment, Hinata didn’t have time to decipher. Kageyama fought to stand up again, and Hinata helped him to the couch. “Your calves?” Hinata asked softly, sitting on the floor in front of the calves, his eyes level with Kageyama’s knees.

“I can barely walk,” Kageyama mumbled sheepishly. He didn’t understand how Hinata was acting so calm after he’d basically just confessed to him. Was that a confession? Was it just a “hey dumbass, I think about you and it’s bugging me”? Did he need to reiterate how he thought about Hinata? Because it was embarrassing the extent to which he imagined Hinata, but at this point he was frustrated that Hinata might not be understanding properly.

Hinata began working his palms in Kageyama’s sensitive muscles, surprised at how tight and muscular the skin there was. This was more than going for jogs – this was jumping practice, uphill running, it was an entire slue of exercises dedicated just to these poor calves. Kageyama made similar noises this time as to when Hinata rubbed his back the night before, and the noises possibly had even _more_ of an effect on him, because now Hinata could see his face.

Kageyama’s cheeks flushed and he grabbed the couch cushions in his fists, his eyes squeezing shut. If anyone walked in and just saw Kageyama’s face, they’d likely think he was getting sucked off by the redhead – which honestly, he’d had so many dreams about doing just that that the face almost seemed familiar. And yet, seeing it actually in front of him drove Hinata mad; he watched Kageyama’s eyes to make sure they stayed closed while he kneaded knots out of his calves. It would only take one look to Hinata’s burning cheeks to realize exactly how much Kageyama’s lewd noises affected him.

“Fuck,” Kageyama breathed as Hinata switched calves. “God, that felt so good…”

Apparently Kageyama didn’t entirely register what he’d said until his eyes shot open and a dark blush spread from his cheeks to his neck. Below him, he saw Hinata staring up at him, mouth slightly agape and the same dark blush spreading across his face. Hinata immediately closed his mouth and looked away. “U-um, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…” he murmured, despite being so anxious to elicit those noises from Kageyama again. Was he gross for wanting that, wanting Kageyama to unravel in his hands while he watched?

Hinata quickly rose to his feet and took off towards the door. “Hina, wait—” Kageyama tried to stand and follow but his leg collapsed and he fell back into the couch.

“Get some rest!” Hinata squeaked, and he scooped up his bag and left.

* * *

That evening, Hinata stared up at his ceiling on his bed. He felt like he’d been there for hours, unmoving, imagining the faces and noises Kageyama made while he massaged his calves. Did actual friends do that? He swore he recalled Noya giving Asahi a back massage during his first year, but for some reason that felt different. Those two felt entirely calm with each other, and the noises Asahi made were nowhere near as blatantly sexual as Kageyama’s.

There was still the question of Hinata’s feelings towards Kageyama to worry about, too. Hinata groaned and threw a pillow into his face just as the door of his bedroom opened. “Shou,” his mother said to him, “your friend Kageyama is here.”

“What?!” Hinata jumped to his feet. Kageyama was certainly the last person Hinata wanted to see right now. Kageyama walked around the doorway, a nervous almost-smile on his face. (At least he’d gotten better at smiling since they met, Hinata thought bitterly.)

“Sorry to interrupt…whatever you’re doing,” Kageyama murmured. Hinata’s mother turned with a small wave and left the two staring at each other, Kageyama in the doorway, Hinata sitting up with his back pressed against his bed’s headboard. Finally, after staring in silence at each other which felt like a goddamn eternity, Kageyama cleared his throat. “Can I come in?”

“Uh, yeah,” Hinata waved his hand dismissively. Kageyama came in, nonchalantly closed the door behind him, and sat on the bed next to Hinata. He sat at the opposite end, much to Hinata’s relief; he was worried that Kageyama would feel the heat of embarrassment radiating off his body if he sat any closer. “Why are you here?” he blurted finally, following another minute or so of silence from his setter.

_I need to stop thinking of him as “my setter”. He’s not “my setter”._

“I guess I just…” Kageyama sighed. “I don’t know, you ran out so quickly earlier that I felt like we needed to…talk?”

“You haven’t actually _talked_ to me in weeks,” Hinata spat bitterly. He felt a little bit bad for saying it when he saw Kageyama’s face contort in pain, but it was true; for weeks now Kageyama had been working himself too hard and not filling Hinata in on what was happening. For god’s sake, Hinata was supposed to be his _partner_!

“I’m sorry,” Kageyama replied softly. “I didn’t know what to say.”

Another silence fell over them, and Hinata began to wonder when it became so awkward to talk to Kageyama like this. Why had he reacted like he did when Kageyama showed up? Sure, Hinata showed up unannounced quite often (like last night), but that didn’t mean it was unheard of that Kageyama turn up without a reason. Kageyama sighed, breaking the silence and easing the tension, if only a little. “I took a hot bath earlier.”

“Glad to hear it?” Hinata didn’t really understand what Kageyama was trying to get at.

“That coupled with your…you know, um,” Kageyama blushed and rubbed his neck. “Just, I needed to thank you. I feel a lot better now.”

“You didn’t sprint here, did you?”

“I _jogged_.”

“How long did it take you?”

“…Shut up.”

Hinata laughed a bit behind his hand. He knew Kageyama would eventually get antsy doing nothing for the day; Hinata himself had been antsy enough to go for a bike ride around the mountain path, which had left his calves aching just a bit.

“Listen, um, Hinata,” Kageyama suddenly sounded serious. “I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

“Why would they be?” Hinata asked, genuinely clueless. Sure, Kageyama had admitted that he thought about him all the time, and Hinata had been extremely bothered by that (but in the good way), but did that mean things couldn’t go back to normal?

“I just, um…” Kageyama usually had trouble speaking his mind, but Hinata thought he’d gotten over that fear, at least when talking to him. Even then, usually Hinata could tell what Kageyama was thinking about. Now he had no clue. Kageyama wrung his hands together nervously in a way that Hinata had never seen; Kageyama wasn’t the type to fidget, unless he had a volleyball to set to himself.

“Spit it out,” Hinata finally said, getting impatient. Kageyama jumped slightly, which was even further from the norm for him; Hinata never intimidated Kageyama to the point of fear.

What happened next happened all at once, and yet it felt like slow motion.

Kageyama crossed the bed on his knees just as Hinata turned, prepared to lecture his partner further. Kageyama grabbed his jaw, gently – in a way Hinata didn’t know Kageyama could muster – and their lips connected, sloppy and nervous and gently enough that Hinata could feel Kageyama’s breath tickling him. Hinata’s hand nervously met Kageyama’s shoulder, and at once Kageyama’s lips were gone and he was pushing himself up from the bed, heading for the door.

“Tobio,” Hinata called, as it was the only thing he could force from his lips. Kageyama stopped, turning slowly towards his partner; Hinata’s fingers touched his lips lightly in one hand, and the other was weakly extended towards him. His cheeks were touched with pink, his eyes half-lidded, his expression slightly confused but desiring more.

 _This is a bad idea,_ Kageyama thought as he crossed the room back towards Hinata. Hinata’s hand, shaky with nerves from what just happened, grabbed the collar of Kageyama’s t-shirt and pulled Kageyama in towards him with surprising force. The mountain of emotions Hinata had been burying collapsed as their lips crashed together again, much fiercer than before. Kageyama ended up pressing Hinata against the headboard, his body between Hinata’s legs, his fingers knotting in that soft hair he’d needed to touch so badly.

 _This is bad this is bad this is bad,_ Kageyama thought as Hinata moaned, Kageyama swallowing the sound as he parted his lips, his kisses becoming more sloppy and less precise. He couldn’t help it; Hinata called him Tobio. God, did that turn him on even more than he already had been, seeing Hinata in his short shorts, his hair messy.

They parted again, each heaving for air, and Kageyama rested his forehead on Hinata’s. He kept his eyes closed solely so he didn’t have to look at the dazed, wonderfully cute expression he was sure Hinata wore, because he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself from kissing the boy until his lips fell off. His senses caught up to him and his eyes shot open, falling backwards on the bed, away from Hinata, until he fell off the bed entirely. He scrambled to his feet as Hinata watched, blankly staring, as if his single brain cell had exploded. Kageyama grabbed his bag, and this time Hinata didn’t call out to him as he left; he could barely think straight.

When it finally dawned on him exactly what had happened, Hinata sat up with a start and immediately called Kageyama. Had they just screwed everything up? Kageyama had kissed him, and he had kissed back – what even happened? Were they dumb? So many questions rolled through Hinata’s mind as the phone rang, and rang, and rang…and he was sent to voicemail. Hinata threw his phone across the room angrily. “Damn it, Bakageyama,” he muttered under his breath, cheeks still hot as he recalled the way Kageyama had looked, crossing the room to come back to him, to kiss him.

Hinata couldn’t deny it any longer – he really had to go and fall in love with his setter. He didn’t even have the voice nagging in the back of his head, telling himself Kageyama wasn’t _his_ but the _team’s_ , as he fell asleep into a series of dreams about what would have happened if Kageyama hadn’t left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata remembered fondly all of the times they fell asleep in a heap on Hinata’s dirty bedroom floor, and how Kageyama would wake up early and be bathed and make breakfast for Hinata and Natsu before either of them had even woken up for the day—
> 
> Oh. That’s what he meant by “lovers’ quarrel”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! Thanks for your patience as I wrote another chapter of this! I was still trying to decide what angle I wanted to take for this fic since it was originally going to be a one-shot. I hope you all enjoy where I decided to take this! If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Hinata called that night “The Incident” in the days following. While the rest of the team pushed themselves to new limits in preparation for the upcoming tournament season, Kageyama and Hinata struggled to remain in sync with each other and act as if nothing was wrong. But as soon as they were out of sight of the rest of the team, their comfortable smiles and nonchalant conversations died quickly and were replaced with embarrassed blushes and uncomfortable silence.

The night before the tournament, Tanaka called them after practice finished; despite not interacting with each other much, the boys were still willing to work overtime with each other (Hinata didn’t want Kageyama overworking himself to the point of complete exhaustion before the tournaments, that was his excuse). They looked over to him, standing in the doorway with a bag over his shoulder. “I want you nitwits out by nine. Got it? Then go home, get some rest, and talk through whatever lovers’ quarrel you’re dealing with.”

Tanaka snickered at the way Hinata’s ears glowed bright red and the way Kageyama tensed so hard he nearly collapsed. With one last wave to them, he met Nishinoya a few paces ahead of him, and the team’s ace and libero disappeared with faint yells of excitement about some sort of television show in the distance. Hinata couldn’t even bear to look over at Kageyama; he could tell his face was still much too hot from the accusation Tanaka had flung their way. “Lovers’ quarrel”? Did they really act like that?

Well, it made some sense. Hinata and Kageyama had grown much closer during the break between their first and second year. Kageyama practically spent the summer at Hinata’s house, because Hinata had pestered his mother enough to purchase a volleyball net for their backyard, and when Kageyama wasn’t at Hinata’s, it was because Hinata was at Kageyama’s. Hinata remembered fondly all of the times they fell asleep in a heap on Hinata’s dirty bedroom floor, and how Kageyama would wake up early and be bathed and make breakfast for Hinata and Natsu before either of them had even woken up for the day—

_Oh. That’s what he meant by “lovers’ quarrel”._

“Hey, idiot, are you even listening?” Kageyama barked, but lately his demanding voice didn’t have the same vigor it used to. “I said I’m going home. I don’t think we should—”

“No!” Hinata cried suddenly, startling Kageyama. “I mean—we can’t! We haven’t been—um, you know—our best lately!”

Kageyama gritted his teeth. _I know,_ he thought hopelessly, _but I don’t know how to fix that without telling you how I feel, dumbass._

“I don’t know what you’re thinking right now but your face is scary,” Hinata stated bluntly, getting a bit more comfortable. He wandered closer to Kageyama and poked at the scowl marks creasing Kageyama’s forehead, making the setter blush and look away.

Kageyama’s shoulders slouched in defeat. “I just…”

“What?” Hinata asked softly, his voice that same hoarse whisper that had said his name just a few days ago, begged for him, for _Tobio…_

“It’s…nothing.” This wasn’t nearly worth jeopardizing a friendship over, especially not the first one he’d had maybe ever. Hinata huffed and stomped his foot, and Kageyama shot him a glare, but again he didn’t display any of his usual malice. Somehow he felt that he couldn’t.

Hinata found himself thrusting a volleyball into his stubborn partner’s hands before he could think twice about the scenario. After all, he wasn’t purely unaffected by the recent development in their relationship, either. He had never thought of Kageyama in that way, he supposed. But then, the moment Kageyama kissed him, it felt so _right_ and so _wrong_ at the same time. It felt a little foolish, honestly, that Hinata would be so hung up on it. After all, Kageyama had more or less returned to normal; he hadn’t been overworking himself as much as he was before, and other than his avoidance of Hinata, everything seemed perfectly fine.

Kageyama stared down at the ball in his hands, then looked up at Hinata. “Did you not hear what I said?” he finally asked as Hinata bounced on the balls of his feet, waiting for Kageyama to say something.

“I did, but I chose to ignore it!” Hinata proclaimed proudly. “Please. Just a few tosses? Until things can get back to normal?”

The mention of ‘normal’ somehow made Kageyama more embarrassed than before. “Things _are_ normal, dumbass,” he scolded, but that didn’t stop him from delivering a toss to Hinata. He enjoyed when the two of them practiced together like this, because it was the only time he had an excuse to look at Hinata and just Hinata. A few times during practice he’d gotten caught staring, and Tsukkishima would always deliver some condescending comment about Kageyama’s habit, and Kageyama would flush and excuse his actions by saying he was watching to see if he could set the ball to better fit into Hinata’s hand. Tsukkishima countered this one day by saying that Kageyama never stared at any of the other spikers the way he stared at Hinata.

Kageyama vowed after that day to never get caught staring again. At least, not with anyone else in the gymnasium. A few times when they practiced alone, Hinata would call Kageyama out on it, but never with the intentions of teasing; in fact, it always seemed to be the opposite. “Kageyama,” he would say after he landed, “you’re super analytical about all this. You never stop watching the ball even after it’s my job to deliver it to the other side of the court! That’s so cool!”

Hinata also had a habit of complimenting Kageyama more when they were alone, and sometimes Kageyama would even compliment him back (though it was always backhanded and delivered after a series of insults). All of this is to say that, while Hinata and Kageyama were always a team, they were only truly partners when they were alone.

They called it a night around eight-thirty, giving each of them enough time to get home, eat, shower, and get to sleep by ten. Their walk home felt normal, despite not walking home together since The Incident, complete with insults hurled at each other and jabber about their first opponents in the tournament the next day. They agreed to meet before the bus left for a bit of last-minute preparations the next morning, and with a slight bit of hesitation, they parted ways.

Hinata texted Kageyama as soon as he made it home (Kageyama had at one point insisted that Hinata let him know that he got home safe after Hinata fell off his bike during icy conditions and ended up with a few bad bruises and a nasty cold). Kageyama replied shortly, and despite Hinata’s efforts to keep up the conversation—with fourteen separate text messages—Kageyama put his phone on silent and went to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Hinata met Kageyama at their usual location before walking together to the school. Hinata continued to force away thoughts about The Incident, as he’d been attempting to do since it happened, and Kageyama must have noticed because he stopped walking and grabbed Hinata’s wrist.

“Hey—what?” Hinata scowled back at him.

“You missed the turn,” Kageyama stated bluntly. “Plus I’ve never seen you in this deep of thought. It must really hurt your single brain cell.”

“Hey!” Hinata huffed, but Kageyama was right. In his efforts to forget about The Incident, he only thought about it more, and it angered him to the point of a mild headache. He shook his head and turned around, going back to where they missed their turn.

“What are you thinking about?” Kageyama asked after a few moments of silence, as though he was attempting to decide if he should even ask. Hinata didn’t look back at him, and he decided the best course of action was to bite his tongue.

They continued to walk in silence, Kageyama’s question hanging in the air between them. Judging by Kageyama’s lack of vigor in pushing to get an answer, Hinata could safely assume that Kageyama knew just what Hinata was thinking about. Perhaps he didn’t want to think about it, either. This was new territory – something that Hinata couldn’t easily push to the back of his mind and forget about, like that English homework.

_Shit. The English homework._

“I forgot to do the English homework,” Hinata said finally, answering the question Kageyama had asked nearly five minutes ago, and Kageyama cocked his head to the side and eyed Hinata curiously. Hinata fully expected him to respond by calling him a liar, or something, but instead he responded:

“There was English homework?”

Hinata snorted and immediately covered his face, a complete and blushing mess. Still, it was hilarious that Kageyama had forgotten about it, too. They were practically of the same mind when it came to volleyball, and for some reason it soothed Hinata to know that despite their equilibrium being thrown off, they were still the same morons they’d always been.

Kageyama even let out a small chuckle, and that noise in itself seemed to right all the tension the two felt with each other. Conversation flowed smoothly from then on out; Hinata even bumped his shoulder with Kageyama’s a few times, and though both of them blushed, neither of them pulled back. Maybe things weren’t meant to be normal. Maybe a new normal needed to be established.

They were the first two at the school when they arrived. Luckily, the freak duo’s extra practice habits led to them being entrusted with a key to the gymnasium in their second year (Kageyama and Hinata often fought about who got to take it home). So the two gladly let themselves in and got a good half hour of practice time before the rest of the team started rolling in, and they prepared to depart.

They had two matches scheduled for that day, if they won the first match. That seemed inevitable, considering neither Hinata nor Kageyama had even heard the name of the first school they were set to play against; they must have been new to the prefecture. Coach Ukai reminded the team that their second match wasn’t guaranteed, but it was likely, and he discussed game techniques based on what he’d observed.

Shortly thereafter, Karasuno boarded the bus. Kageyama and Hinata sat with each other, as they always did, and Kageyama rested his head against the window. Usually Hinata would move closer to his partner, but instead he remained upright, keeping the amount of unnecessary contact to a minimum.

_New normal._

Most of the team took the opportunity to get a bit more rest before their matches, but Hinata and Kageyama chatted idly, discussing previous matches and what the other team might be like. Kageyama kept his cheek pressed to the window, watching lazily as cars passed by them, and Hinata found himself leaning closer subconsciously to hear him better. As soon as he noticed, though, he would sit upright once more, blushing and hoping that Kageyama didn’t notice.

Of course Kageyama noticed.

He wondered if Hinata was scared of him now, or if he was trying to set some sort of new boundaries between them. Kageyama felt exceedingly guilty with every passing moment for messing with such a balanced relationship. He should have left Hinata outside that night, he shouldn’t have gone back to Hinata’s that next day…

Why had he even gone to see Hinata?

At first, it had been to thank him, he thought. Though he hated not doing anything, he truly needed a day off, and forced himself to believe the entire way to Hinata’s that he had only gone to thank his partner. Of course, he wanted to see Hinata. He almost always wanted to _see_ Hinata, with the way his bright and bubbly personality captivated the entire room. And Kageyama’s mom always pestered him about it, too, even suggesting that when Hinata was around Kageyama had a much nicer personality himself.

He wasn’t so sure how true that part was, but the fact that his mom approved of Hinata made him quite happy to forget the rest of her statement.

Kageyama lifted his cheek from the glass and turned to face Hinata for the first time since they got on the bus. He hadn’t said anything for a second, and Kageyama soon realized why; Hinata had an earbud in one ear and his eyes were closed. His head was slouched over, and Kageyama knew if Hinata fell asleep like that his neck would be sore and he’d have a hard time looking around during the matches to come that day. Maybe he could just…

He reached out, his cheeks growing hot as he remembered the way Hinata had reached toward him that day in his room. Kageyama didn’t exactly have a plan, but whatever his subconscious had been trying to accomplish failed as he gave up at the last second and instead grabbed for the other earbud dangling down. He slipped it into his ear and was surprised to hear calming, instrumental piano music. He didn’t know Hinata was _cultured._

Hinata’s head snapped up as Kageyama’s arm lightly brushed his, and suddenly both of their faces erupted with bright pink blushes. Kageyama had leaned in closer to Hinata because the earbud cord didn’t quite reach, and their faces were rather close together now. Kageyama froze. “I-I—”

“Sorry,” Hinata cut him off quickly, jolting backwards. The earbud came out of his ear and Kageyama watched quizzically, reaching up and removing the other earbud from his own ear.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s my fault,” Kageyama replied, putting the earbud in Hinata’s lap. “I thought you fell asleep.”

“I’m just trying to focus,” Hinata said, his brows furrowed just enough to make Kageyama wonder if Hinata was upset with him.

“Oh,” Kageyama mumbled, looking away. Hinata didn’t speak to him again; instead, he put both earbuds in his ears and let his head hang once more. Kageyama pressed his cheek back against the window, once again watching the cars go by.

In reality, Hinata really needed to take his mind off Kageyama. With him sitting so close, Hinata felt suffocated and a bit jittery, if he was being honest. Like he needed to move, or do something, and that feeling kept pushing him to lean up against Kageyama’s side like he normally did on these bus rides. Except before The Incident it wouldn’t have been weird. Now it would be weird. Why did Kageyama have to kiss him and make it weird?

But…Hinata _did_ kiss back. And he _did_ call Kageyama back after he tried to leave. Was he just as much to blame for the unsettling atmosphere between them?

The whole thing made Hinata’s head spin – or was that carsickness from staring at his lap for so long? And that feeling in his stomach hadn’t been there before. Oh no. “Kage—”

Kageyama wordlessly passed a plastic bag over to him. “I’ve come to expect it,” he said with a shrug, closing his eyes. Hinata clutched the bag in his lap, trying to steady his breathing and calm his stomach. He almost made it the rest of the drive, getting sick into the bag right as they turned the corner to the school. At that point, most of the team was awake, and there was a chorus of “eww”s and “gross, Hinata”s across the bus. Hinata blushed in embarrassment and tied the bag, running off the bus the second it stopped.

Normally Kageyama would follow Hinata, because Hinata had a strange habit of running into scary opponents on his way to the bathroom. However, as he watched Hinata disappear into the large sports center, he decided it might be for the best to just let him go this time. He got off the bus with the rest of the team, having grabbed Hinata’s things as well as his own.

He didn’t see Hinata again until they were ready to warm up. The other team was small, with only eight players, and Kageyama could pick out right away which team member would be the biggest problem to Hinata. Even then, he couldn’t call it much of a problem – the boy just had slightly quicker reflexes than the typical blocker they went up against. Kageyama had no fear that his and Hinata’s quick would be frequent and successful during their match.

He was right. Even with Hinata avoiding extra unnecessary contact during the match, they won the first two sets by a mile. They had two hours for lunch, then another match against a team with at least a more memorable name. Kageyama didn’t doubt that they would win their second match, as well.

Hinata and Kageyama ate their lunch up in the spectators’ stands, each wanting to get a good look at their next opponents. Kageyama noted that both teams had decent setters, at least more decent than their last opponents’. The one setter liked to dump on the other team quite often, and Kageyama wondered if he didn’t quite trust his spikers.

But the spikers were decent, too. Nothing to be afraid of, especially with Hinata and Tanaka, but certainly enough to grab Kageyama’s attention. They both seemed to be more or less well-rounded teams, but well-rounded up against Karasuno’s clash of various talents only succeeded with powerhouse teams like Nekoma.

Hinata nudged his shoulder against Kageyama’s gently, and Kageyama wondered if he even meant to do it. When he glanced over, Hinata was staring up at him, his cheeks pink and his mouth slightly open like he was trying to gather the courage to say something. Kageyama arced his eyebrow quizzically.

“What?” he asked finally.

“U-um!” Hinata stuttered and the rice ball he’d been eating went flying out of his hand in shock. Kageyama snorted a laugh, then covered his face, looking away before Hinata could see the massive blush on his face.

“Well, spit it out!” Kageyama said finally, after he’d regained his composure.

“I don’t want things to be weird with us,” he said.

“Things aren’t weird,” Kageyama replied stiffly.

“Bullshit,” Hinata griped. “Are too.”

“Are not.”

“Are. Too.”

“Whatever.” Kageyama sighed. “How do you suggest we fix it, then?”

“W-well, I don’t know!” Hinata cried. “Maybe um, we need to um…make a new normal?”

“A new normal?” Kageyama questioned.

“Yeah, like…kinda like our old normal, but new.”

“And what was the old normal?”

“Y’know, arguing on the way home from volleyball and uh, stuff,” Hinata shuffled in his seat. “I don’t know. You had to go and make it weird, so you should be the one to come up with a solution.”

“H-hey!” Kageyama scowled.

“Why did you do that, anyway?” Hinata continued, despite Kageyama’s protest. “I mean, you just like…ki—”

“It was a mistake and I’m sorry,” Kageyama said through gritted teeth. “Can we just, I don’t know, put it behind us?”

Hinata was about to object—for some reason. He was about to say he didn’t want to forget about it, but luckily Tanaka saved him the embarrassment of admitting that by clapping both of them on the shoulder. “Team meeting,” he said sternly, and Hinata and Kageyama followed him out of the spectators’ area just as the game they were watching finished up and their next opponent was determined.

* * *

The second match went a little less smoothly as the first. After Hinata and Kageyama’s talk, Hinata had a bit on his mind – the most concerning of which being the fact that he really, _really_ didn’t want to forget Kageyama’s mouth on his. To an embarrassing degree, really. He didn’t _want_ to put it behind them, for some reason. He wanted to sort it out.

 _Is that what kissing girls is like, too?_ Hinata thought hopelessly, trying to convince himself that maybe Kageyama had just reminded him how truly lonely he was. Maybe he wasn't in love with Kageyama. _Oh god, I'd forgotten all about that with him being all weird._ But the problem was, he’d never wanted to kiss a girl. He’d never wanted to kiss Kageyama, either, at least not until it happened...but now that it had happened once he wanted to do it again.

He got hit in the face with a volleyball.

“Hinata!” Kageyama yelped, offering a hand to help him off the ground. “Where’s your head, dumbass?” he asked, and usually there would be malice in his tone – especially after getting hit in the face – but he really just sounded concerned.

Hinata made up his mind. He needed to kiss Kageyama. Just one more time, and then it would be out of his mind forever. Then they could go back to normal.

After setting his mind, Hinata and Kageyama were able to officially take the match. Their freak quick took at least twelve points in the second set, and despite losing the first set they were able to take the third by a mile. They bowed to each other and cleaned up their things just as the next two teams took to the floor.

“Kageyama,” Hinata said sternly as the team walked out, “can we talk? About, um, the quick?”

Tanaka glanced back at the two of them. “We’re de-briefing in ten minutes, then we’re leaving. Be back by then, please.”

“Yes sir,” Hinata bowed, then grabbed for Kageyama’s arm and dragged him away before the setter could object. Still, Kageyama yanked his wrist back and settled for walking himself to their destination.

“What was wrong with it?” Kageyama asked sternly. He had become more and more accustomed to taking criticisms, even over minute things like the timing being off by just a split second.

“Oh, hm? Nothing,” Hinata replied vaguely, walking up to the men’s bathroom and holding open the door for Kageyama. “After you.”

“What are you planning,” Kageyama grumbled, mostly to himself. Hinata walked in after him and delivered a kick to each of the stall doors, making sure they were all empty. “Seriously, you’re freaking me out a little,” Kageyama said as he watched the smaller boy peer into the bathroom stalls.

“I need you to kiss me,” Hinata said bluntly. Kageyama sputtered, his face turning red.

“S-sorry, _what_?!”

“That’s the only thing I can think of that will get me to stop thinking about it.” Hinata hopped up on the sink counter, making him closer to Kageyama’s height. “Please, Tobio.”

“Don’t you _fucking_ say that,” Kageyama hissed, his face turning even redder. Jesus, was Hinata trying to kill him?!

Hinata started. “You…I thought you liked that?”

“I do,” Kageyama said quickly, “but now really isn’t the time, don’t you think?” He was walking towards the counter to grab Hinata by the shoulder and forcibly drag him back to the bus, then overthink exactly what Hinata had just implied. Hinata had other plans, though.

It all happened in a second. Hinata’s fist was balled in the collar of Kageyama’s shirt and he yanked, their lips clashing together almost painfully as Kageyama’s hands fell to Hinata’s sides on the counter trying to steady himself. Just as soon as it happened Kageyama was stumbling backwards into the bathroom stalls, panting. “What are you _doing_?” he scowled.

“I…” Hinata blinked. “I thought maybe this would help me stop thinking about it.”

“Dumbass,” Kageyama barked, his regular malice coming back. “I’m going to kill you.”

He was gone before Hinata could even kick himself off the counter. Hinata stood, confused. Kageyama had initiated the kiss last time; Hinata assumed that meant Kageyama would like it. But Kageyama most certainly did not like it. Why didn’t he like it?

Hinata didn’t really enjoy it, either. In fact, it quite hurt his face. He much preferred the gentle kiss Kageyama had given him while they were on his bed. He tapped his chin in thought, trying to picture all the similarities and differences in the two instances that made this kiss so horrible and the last one so great.

His mind whirled even as he stepped out of the bathroom, and he nearly bumped into Kageyama. He looked up at him; the blush was gone from Kageyama’s cheeks and he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. When Hinata appeared, he scoffed down at him. “I was afraid you’d get lost,” he said sheepishly, rubbing his neck.

Hinata just smiled. “Probably,” he admitted, and the two made their way back to the bus.

* * *

Hinata fell asleep on the bus. Kageyama gave him the window seat on the way back, hoping that it would prevent the boy from getting carsick again. With Hinata asleep, though, he had all the time in the world to contemplate exactly what had happened in the bathroom earlier. He’d be lying if he said kissing Hinata again hadn’t been on his mind, but he’d promised himself he wouldn’t do anything for fear of hurting their friendship. But…Hinata initiated it. Did he not understand how Kageyama felt about him? Or worse, did he _completely_ understand how Kageyama felt?

His panic must have been evident on his face as Hinata woke up, because the smaller boy poked at his face. “You look worried about something,” he noted, sleep making his voice scratchy and heavy. Kageyama refused to look at him and instead kept his eyes straight ahead, his face slowly turning pink as Hinata continued to prod.

“Hinata, stop.”

“But what’s wrong?”

“I said stop.”

“Not until you tell me what’s—”

Kageyama reached up and grabbed Hinata’s wrist, stilling his motions. “I said stop,” he breathed, finally turning to look at Hinata, and wow did he wish he hadn’t.

Hinata’s mouth was agape, hair messy from sleep, eyes still half-lidded. His cheeks were just slightly pink, and Kageyama could clearly see a few freckles on Hinata’s nose being so close. He quickly let go of Hinata’s wrist and looked forward again, setting his jaw and praying to every god above that he would disappear.

“Is this about—”

“Hinata, _please_ —”

Nobody else on the bus was listening to them, but Kageyama still didn’t want anyone to know about what was happening between them. No, that was ridiculous. Nothing was happening between them. Nothing but a stupid lurch in their relationship, and that was nobody’s business but their own.

Hinata had taken the hint and closed his mouth. He let his head press against the window again, eyes fluttering closed. Kageyama thought he was asleep, but then he spoke, quietly enough that Kageyama struggled to hear him.

“Will you come over tonight, Tobio?” he asked, and Kageyama’s breath hitched. _When_ had Hinata decided that he could use his first name whenever he damn well pleased?!

He couldn’t say no, though. “Yeah,” he breathed back finally. Hinata smiled and readjusted his head, and a few minutes later he was snoring.

Oh, what had Kageyama gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I hope you're enjoying this - it's certainly fun to write! Lately I've been going all the way back in the AO3 Haikyuu!! page because there's not much other than AUs right now, and don't get me wrong, I love AUs - but sometimes I just want to read about volleyball dorks. So, I decided to write my own! 
> 
> Anyways, thanks again for reading! I appreciate all your support so much!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He thought back to the way Hinata had grabbed the collar of his uniform in the bathroom and erupted into a coughing fit, trying very hard to mask the blush creeping to his cheeks. Hinata cocked his head to the side sleepily. Yeah, Kageyama had definitely made a huge mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! I'm back with another update! I hope you all have been enjoying this as much as I have! I currently have a series that's all fluff, so I'm making this one almost all angst to make up for it. I hope you don't mind! And if you do, well, it'll probably turn into fluff at some point in the near future!  
> Thank you all for the kind comments and support! I appreciate everything you people do for me! If you want to find more of my old stuff, you can find it on my tumblr writing blog at yamamamakun!

Well, it was official – Kageyama was a moron.

The reality of his crisis set in just as the bus returned to Karasuno and Hinata awoke next to him. The way he sleepily smiled over at Kageyama made his heart melt, and he wondered just how on _earth_ he planned to make it through the evening at Hinata’s house. Perhaps he could insist they spend time with Natsu. That was always Kageyama’s go-to when he felt he might implode spending so much time alone with Hinata. Which, as of late, was pretty much always.

He thought back to the way Hinata had grabbed the collar of his uniform in the bathroom and erupted into a coughing fit, trying very hard to mask the blush creeping to his cheeks. Hinata cocked his head to the side sleepily. Yeah, Kageyama had definitely made a huge mistake.

“Oi, are you two coming?!” Nishinoya yelled into the bus, causing both of them to jump and hurry off the bus with their belongings and a string of apologies. Somehow, despite not getting any taller, Nishinoya got much more intimidating in his third year.

They de-briefed in the gymnasium, but it was quick; no stellar teams to go against meant there wasn’t really a need for in-depth analysis of where the team could have improved. For them, though it might sound a bit arrogant, today had been the equivalent of two matches against junior high teams. Kageyama had hoped Coach Ukai would have more to say. With Hinata’s shoulder bumping his every few seconds, Kageyama thought he might explode.

 _This is why I worked out so much,_ he thought bitterly, in the short moment he wasn’t thinking about his partner.

“Race you home?” Hinata asked hopefully as they stepped out of the gymnasium. Kageyama eagerly nodded his head; at least racing meant not talking as much.

About halfway to Hinata’s, though, Kageyama realized that it was taking much less time than usual. Meaning they’d have much _more_ time than usual to be in Hinata’s room. Alone.

He thought about slowing down, letting Hinata have the win, but that would be suspicious. Also, Kageyama was a stubborn asshole when it came to racing. He _had_ to win. Mostly because he wanted to be able to hold it over Hinata’s head, but partly because if he saw that gloating smile Hinata always gave him when he won, Kageyama might explode before they even set foot in Hinata’s house.

Well – at this point, death by explosion might be better than a night alone with Hinata.

Kageyama tried to wrap his head around what Hinata’s ploy in the bathroom earlier even _was._ Was he interested in Kageyama? He had said he just needed to kiss Kageyama one more time, then he could forget. Was it his way of getting closure? Kageyama knew for sure that if he kissed Hinata again, he wouldn’t want closure, he’d want more. His constant train of thought revolving around his partner was an indicator of that, surely.

He should turn back now. He would only end up hurting Hinata. There was no way this could end in anything more than pain for them. The second they got to Hinata’s house, Kageyama would say he only agreed because he left something here last time – a textbook, maybe, or some clothes? Which would be more believable?

“Hey, can you hurry up a little?” Hinata taunted from outside his front door. Kageyama had been so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice Hinata had pulled ahead of him. He groaned inwardly, awaiting Hinata’s fated gloaty-smile, but instead he found a sort of confused and worried expression on his friend’s face.

Kageyama huffed as he stopped next to Hinata. “You got me,” he murmured, staring down at his feet with his hands on his knees, taking a minute to catch his breath.

“Seriously, what’s up with you?” Hinata grumbled. As if it wasn’t the same Hinata who had so forcibly kissed him earlier.

“What’s up with you?” Kageyama shot back, then immediately bit his tongue. _Shouldn’t have said that. Should_ not _have said that._

Hinata just shrugged and opened the door. “Mama, Kageyama is here!” he called through the house, and Hinata’s mother – who had the same orange hair and freckles as her son – poked her head around the door to the kitchen.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Kageyama bowed.

“So formal,” Hinata’s mother teased, and Hinata jabbed him in the side for good measure. “Shouyo, please take care of all the dirty dishes in your room sometime tonight. Poor Kageyama shouldn’t have to see how dirty of a little boy you are.”

Hinata groaned dramatically (or was that embarrassment?), and his mother stuck out her tongue in a teasing fashion. Kageyama always watched their exchanges with such curiosity; he and his mother didn’t act nearly as…what was the word? _Silly_? Hinata’s mother noted this and crossed the room finally, pulling the boys into a hug.

“How did the tournament go, boys?”

“Easy victory,” Hinata bragged, and Kageyama simply nodded in agreement. His body was stiff and he never knew how to react being hugged by Hinata’s mother in the first place, but with Hinata being pressed into his side, he struggled to do much of anything.

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. When are your next games?”

“Tomorrow,” Kageyama finally spoke, surprising both the Hinatas. “We’re playing against Aoba Johsai.”

“But now they don’t have that asshole Oikawa san on the team!” Hinata squealed.

“Language, Shouyo,” his mother warned.

Just then, Natsu rounded the corner with dripping wet hair and a set of princess pajamas on. “Kageyama san!” she cried happily, running across the room. Finally, someone Kageyama knew how to interact with. He knelt down and enveloped her in a hug.

Natsu and Kageyama’s friendship certainly wasn’t expected; Kageyama had never _not_ been scary in a child’s eyes. So, when Natsu ran directly up to him the first time Kageyama came over, he went stiff as a board and tried not to make eye contact. For a while, Natsu referred to Kageyama as “scarecrow man” because of that, but she never stopped trying to play with him. Finally Kageyama decided he would teach her to set the volleyball one day, and well, she was a natural. Since then, she would regularly make appearances while he and Hinata were practicing, and a few times Natsu even tossed to Hinata. Sometimes they would play two-on-one with the Hinatas on one side of the net and Kageyama on the other, but it never felt right playing with Hinata as an opponent. Not anymore.

Hinata and his mother both “aww”ed at the sight as Kageyama lifted Natsu up into the air. “You’re getting heavy, Natsu chan,” he said, pretending to strain to hold her. Natsu laughed and kicked her feet, teasing Kageyama for being weak.

“Natsu, Kageyama and I have homework to do, so you need to leave us alone today,” Hinata said sternly. Natsu pouted at Hinata, though it looked more like a scowl if Kageyama was being honest.

Kageyama decided he should put on a pout, as well.

Hinata immediately flustered and looked away. “I—well, um—we have a big history test coming up!”

“We do?” Kageyama asked blankly.

“Do you?” Natsu asked Kageyama, as if she could tell Hinata was lying.

“Well, I don’t remember,” Kageyama replied, watching Hinata wriggle under the stress. “What do you think, Natsu chan?”

“I think Onii chan is lying!” she cackled.

“Well, well, even if he is it’s getting to be your bedtime,” Hinata’s mother cut in, taking the squirming child from Kageyama. She winked to him, which sent Kageyama into a panic because _what was that supposed to mean_ , and in a few seconds she and Natsu were down the hall.

Hinata let out a sigh and looked back at Kageyama. “What, you don’t want to be alone with me?”

“I haven’t seen Natsu in a while,” Kageyama replied coolly, but he could feel his cheeks heating up. _Of course I don’t want to be alone with you, dumbass,_ he thought angrily.

He did, despite that, let Hinata drag him to his bedroom. It wasn’t nearly as messy as Kageyama was used to, and for some reason that just made him even more nervous. There were, however, a few dirty plates lingering around. If Kageyama hadn’t been so nervous, he probably would have teased Hinata for it.

Hinata shut the door behind them and launched himself onto his bed, grabbing the volleyball from underneath the bed and tossing it up in the air. “So,” he said, trying to break the silence.

“L-listen, Hina, I really only agreed because I left something here and—”

“I’m sorry.”

“…Huh?” Kageyama hadn’t expected an apology from Hinata, but he supposed that one _was_ in order after the stunt Hinata pulled earlier.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Hinata grew quieter as he kept talking. “You’re just so… _gwah_ , and I wanted to get you off my mind. I thought that might help.”

Kageyama sat down, thinking through his next words carefully. “Did it?” he asked finally.

Hinata chuckled a little, continuing to toss the volleyball up and down. He caught it after a few more tosses, then let it roll to the ground. “No, it didn’t.”

“Probably because it was kind of awful,” Kageyama said bluntly, and Hinata snorted a little.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

A silence fell between them, as if both of them knew the next logical move, but neither of them wanted to admit it. Kageyama felt the words playing at his lips and he tried so hard to keep them to himself, thought _this is exactly why you shouldn’t have agreed_ , but now that he was sat on Hinata’s bed the same way he’d been the first time, he wanted nothing more than for Hinata to grab his collar again and—

“Do you want to try again?” Kageyama spit out, confusing both of them. He refused to look over at Hinata, refused to watch Hinata’s face contort in disgust, or watch the way Hinata looked when he kicked him out.

“ _Yes_ ,” Hinata whispered back, barely giving Kageyama any time to register that Hinata wasn’t about to kick him out. The smaller boy threw one of his legs over Kageyama’s waist in a quick motion, and Kageyama had never felt so embarrassed before in his life. But that didn’t stop him from reaching for Hinata’s neck and pulling his face forward to close the distance between them. He heard Hinata’s breath hitch just before their lips connected, and then he felt those small fingers threading through his dark hair.

It didn’t hurt this time. Their lips slid together with a surprising harmony. Kageyama’s free hand found its way to Hinata’s waist, tentatively, as if waiting for Hinata to swat it away. His hand never came to bat Kageyama’s away; instead, his fingers tightened in Kageyama’s hair, making the latter groan. Hinata swallowed the noise and took the opportunity to let his tongue slide against Kageyama’s bottom lip.

Kageyama pulled away quickly, panting and flushed. He had to leave. This was bad. _Fuck_ , this was bad. His eyes frantically searched for a way to escape without hurting Hinata – but the boy had him pinned in place. Hinata sat back on his heels, his butt landing on Kageyama’s lower thighs. “Is everything…okay?”

Kageyama didn’t respond. He tried to calm his racing heart, taking deep breaths.

Hinata scurried off of his lap quickly. “I’m—I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I really thought that—”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Kageyama said quickly. He thought it might have been the only time off the volleyball court he’d ever spoken his mind.

Hinata looked down at him, eyes wide and questioning. “What, are you like, gonna kill me?”

Kageyama snorted. Despite his current state of mind, he _snorted_ , and immediately covered his mouth in a heap of embarrassment. “N-no, dumbass,” he grumbled.

“Well then how could you hurt me?” Hinata asked softly, imploring. He sat next to Kageyama on the bed, letting their thighs touch.

“Like—I don’t know,” Kageyama murmured. “Like if you don’t…want to…”

“I thought _you_ didn’t want to,” Hinata replied softly.

“I do,” Kageyama said quickly. “I, um. I’ve wanted to for…a while.”

“So what’s the problem then?” Hinata griped, wringing his hands together. “Is it…weird?”

Kageyama hadn’t even really stopped to consider that; at least, not for a while. When he first began overworking himself, it was because he knew the way he felt about Hinata wasn’t right. But then, he’d become so distracted – Hinata showing up to his house so late, then staying the night and giving him those massages. Kageyama going back to his house that night and making the mistake of kissing him. All the awkward, unsettled air between them, and Hinata’s attempt to break Kageyama’s face with his own in the bathroom earlier. And now this. Had he not been so consistently distracted by Hinata’s stupidity (and also his own, but he’d never admit that out loud) he might have stopped to remember that _this is weird, and it needs to stop_.

“Yes,” Kageyama barked, and he hated the way Hinata flinched, but he’d made up his mind. “We can’t keep doing this, Hina.”

“Doing what?” Hinata asked dumbly, shuffling away from Kageyama so he could look at him easier.

“This,” he gestured between them. “The…kissing, and stuff. It has to stop.”

Hinata hung his head. “Okay,” he said finally. “Yeah. You’re right.”

* * *

It most certainly did not stop.

Well, okay. The kissing stopped, but the way Kageyama thought about Hinata only got worse. He replayed their last kiss in his head probably at least once a day, imagining Hinata so casually throwing his leg over Kageyama and the way he fit so well in his lap.

It was pure torture.

Not to mention Hinata rarely walked home with him anymore. In fact, they rarely _talked_ anymore. Aside from volleyball, they spent the absolute bare minimum amount of time together. Where they used to study Hinata was running off and asking Yamaguchi if he wanted to study; where Hinata would usually ask for extra practice, he was instead asking one of the first-years to set to him. And Kageyama felt alone again, a feeling he’d nearly forgotten since he’d met Hinata, but unwelcome all the same. It didn’t take a genius to realize that something had happened between the two, and before long, Tanaka and Nishinoya were cornering him after practice.

They looked oddly like they were preparing to _mug_ Kageyama rather than chat with him, honestly. Tanaka wore his intimidating expression and Noya kept poking his finger into Kageyama’s chest angrily. “We know something’s up with you and Hinata,” Noya grumbled, and immediately Kageyama blushed. Although he knew full well that Nishinoya was probably referring to their inability to hold a conversation with each other, he worried that maybe somehow Noya knew about the kisses and the pining and the weird thoughts and – could Noya read his _mind_?!

“Hey,” Tanaka clapped a hand down on Kageyama’s shoulder, and the latter jumped. “You look like you’re gonna puke. Noya just wanted to play ‘bad cop’.”

“What the hell,” Kageyama barked.

“We just want to know why you’re not talking to each other,” Tanaka added, completely unphased by Kageyama’s tone.

“Oh,” Kageyama almost let out a sigh of relief, until he realized that _why_ they weren’t talking was because of the kissing. “W-well—”

How did he put this? He had never been good at lying. As he tried to think of what to say in a logical way that wouldn’t infer exactly what had happened, speak of the goddamn devil, Hinata rounded the corner. He had been chatting with the first-year setter (Kageyama hadn’t bothered to learn his name), when he saw the way Kageyama’s face was contorted like he might be sick. “Hey, is everything okay?” he asked the three of them.

Noya and Tanaka whipped around to stare at him. Finally, Tanaka cleared his throat. “Well, we just wanted to ask Kageyama here what’s going on between you two, and he looks like he’s gonna die.”

“So what’s going on?” Noya added, approaching Hinata and preparing to use his ‘bad cop’ routine on him instead.

Hinata held up his hands defensively, though Kageyama could tell a blush was creeping to his face. “N-nothing, alright? I just decided that I…need to get better at working with other people.” Hinata sounded oddly like he’d had that excuse prepared for this exact moment.

Tanaka glanced between the two suspiciously. The first-year setter told Hinata he’d meet him later to practice, rushing off before the situation could get any stranger. Nishinoya poked at Hinata’s chest. “That still doesn’t explain why you two don’t eat lunch together, and stuff.”

“R-right!” Tanaka supplied.

“W-well…” Hinata rubbed his neck.

“We only spent time together because we were practicing,” Kageyama said quickly. All three sets of eyes trained on him; Tanaka and Nishinoya were confused that he hadn’t thrown up while talking, somehow, but Hinata’s expression was unreadable. Was he relieved? Hurt? Kageyama knew they had been more than just teammates – they had been friends – at least, he thought they had.

Kageyama felt his stomach knot in frustration. Right, his only friend. He had destroyed his relationship with his only friend.

“I mean, I guess that makes sense,” Tanaka mumbled finally. “Your teamwork on the court hasn’t really changed. We were just concerned it would change.”

“No,” Kageyama and Hinata echoed each other. Hinata cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, kicking at a suddenly extremely interesting rock.

“Everything is fine,” Kageyama said, his throat tight. Hinata nodded sternly, and Noya and Tanaka finally shrugged, leaving the two after a few shared glances.

“I-I should…go,” Hinata said shortly thereafter, refusing to look up at Kageyama. His cheeks were still red, if Kageyama could tell anything from the quick glances he’d been shooting Hinata’s way. Hinata didn’t wait for a response; he turned on his heel and ran, likely going to practice with that first-year. It frustrated Kageyama. Not having anyone to practice with felt so…awful. And Tanaka and Noya had been right – Hinata and Kageyama didn’t necessarily _need_ the extra practice to keep their freak quick in line. That had always been Kageyama’s excuse for practicing so much with Hinata, at least before he knew he had a crush on him: their quick could suffer without practice.

He let himself slide down the wall, his butt landing with an unceremonious thud on the ground. Kageyama wasn’t one for crying, but if he were to do so at any point in time, he felt like now was when he was closest to doing so. He hated the tightness that settled in his chest, the way Hinata had said he needed to work with other people – which was entirely true, he needed to adapt to change – but Kageyama hated it. He hated thinking that Hinata might abandon him altogether for that dumb first-year who reminded him just a little too much of Suga senpai.

He thrust a fist into his palm in realization. Suga senpai! He’d know what to do.

At the end of the year prior, Suga had given his phone number to everyone on the team (at least, those who didn’t have it) and in a very serious way insisted that they all kept in touch. He vaguely remembered Daichi scolding him afterwards, talking about how Hinata would never leave him alone, now, and Hinata defensively responding by saying he just liked sending people funny pictures that reminded him of them. (Hinata had stopped sending Kageyama funny pictures like that after Hinata sent him a picture of a raccoon holding its paws up and insisted that was what Kageyama looked like when he had no sleep. Kageyama blocked him on pretty much every social media, even the ones he didn’t use.)

That was how Kageyama ended up preparing a frantic text to Suga, not really sure of what to say. What could he say? _I kissed Hinata a few times and now everything is ruined, help me senpai_? Though Kageyama didn’t doubt Suga senpai had an answer for everything, talking to him about _that_ felt a bit strange. Not to mention the hopeless feeling in Kageyama’s stomach that Hinata would never speak to him again. God, what he would do to feel Hinata’s lips on his again—

He sat straight up against the wall. Is that _really_ all he wanted? No, he missed everything. He missed racing to and from school, and stuff like that. Why was kissing Hinata all that was on his mind? He groaned and threw his head into his hands. Maybe the only solution to this was overworking. Maybe his initial thought had been right, back before any of that weird stuff happened with Hinata. Could he really put it behind him, thought? Hinata surely had.

Kageyama pushed himself to his feet and began to jog towards the gymnasium, text to Suga forgotten. The image of Hinata in his lap grew stronger, almost too strong to suppress, and he had to do _something_ about it.

Unfortunately, Hinata was there, and he seemed to have a different _something_ in mind.

* * *

After that night, Hinata felt…well, horrible. No sugar-coating it. He felt like the worst human being on the face of the earth, even without the embarrassment of the way he’d thrown himself into Kageyama’s lap.

He touched the back of his neck. He could still feel the way Kageyama gripped him there, holding him in place, certainly acting like he _wanted_ it—and then as soon as they started, Kageyama stilled with that panicked look on his face like he might shrivel up right before Hinata’s eyes. Hinata rarely saw that look; certainly never on the volleyball court, and maybe only once or twice besides that. That’s how he knew he screwed up, he knew he could never talk to Kageyama again, he knew he could never face him—

He cried. A lot.

Hinata had a habit of doing that, but it had been nearly two years since he broke down the way he did, letting his shoulders shake and his breath stutter and he released silent sobs into his pillow. Despite his attempts to be quiet, he heard something slip under his door, and Natsu had passed him a note. She had just recently learned to write, and she took every opportunity to use her newfound skill.

_Pleeze don’t cry big brother! Natsu make yoo smile!_

And, underneath that, a drawing of…a balloon? And a dog, maybe? Or maybe a horse?

As Hinata tried to puzzle out the cryptic drawings, he found a smile indeed creeping to his cheeks. He even laughed, a little, sniffling. Natsu, who must have been waiting outside the door, took it as a sign that she could come in. Normally Hinata would have stopped her, but he felt so utterly drained of energy that he let her waddle up to him and plop herself down on the bed next to him.

“What’s wrong, Onii chan?” she asked, clutching a unicorn stuffed animal.

Hinata clutched the note tighter in his hands. “Kageyama-kun said he can’t come over anymore.”

“What?!” Natsu wailed, her own big brown eyes filling with tears.

“Hey, hey, don’t go crying now too,” Hinata murmured, ruffling her hair delicately. “He told me to tell you that he’s gonna send you presents. Lots of them. So don’t go getting sad, okay?”

Natsu sniffled pitifully. “Is he giving you presents, too?” she asked hopefully.

Hinata felt his chest tighten, and suddenly a new bout of tears threatened to leave him. He bit his lip and drew a shaky breath all while Natsu waited patiently for an answer. “No,” he said finally, after gaining some control over his reaction. “Just you. Kageyama-kun already gave me a really good present.”

“Oh,” Natsu nodded as if she understood everything. “Then, why are you so sad?”

“Because I’m gonna miss him,” Hinata replied simply, because really, it _was_ that simple. Nothing felt truer at that moment. He’d miss Kageyama. He’d miss their lunches together, their late practices, their inside jokes, their study sessions. He’d miss everything. But Kageyama had made it entirely clear to him that what they were doing needed to stop, and he intended to stop _everything_ so that he wouldn’t hurt Kageyama the way he already had.

“Oh,” Natsu replied, swinging her legs off the side of his bed. “I’m gonna miss him, too.”

Hinata didn’t forget about the promise “Kageyama” had made to bring Natsu presents. He often stayed up late and wrote little notes, putting them in an envelope signed by Kageyama addressed to Natsu, then dropped them off in the mailbox for his mother to bring in in the morning. It didn’t take long for his mother to recognize his handwriting, however, and begin to ask questions.

Finally, one night after Natsu had gone to bed and Hinata sat at the table working on homework, his mother wandered in and placed herself across from him. “Kageyama-kun has sent Natsu four letters this week,” she stated in a sing-songy voice. “I wonder when he’ll finally visit again.”

“Dunno,” Hinata mumbled, not really paying much attention. He was too busy agonizing over his English homework.

“You know,” his mother tried a different approach, “Kageyama-kun must be stopping by to leave the notes in the mailbox, since there’s no address on them. I wonder why he doesn’t just come up to the door?”

Alright, that was enough to make Hinata cautiously set his pencil down and look up at her. “I don’t know,” he replied blankly, feeling a sort of pride and a hint of discomfort at the ease with which he lied to his mother.

“Shouyou,” she mumbled, “what happened?”

Hinata knew now wasn’t the time to cry, but the lump that rose in his throat told him maybe it was. Hinata’s mother prepared herself, knowing that contorted face trying to hold back tears well; she couldn’t count the amount of times Hinata had come home from middle school frustrated and near-tears over the fact that he couldn’t play volleyball how he wanted. When Hinata got to high school, those moments became fewer and further between, but now that they were back, she suspected Kageyama had played a part in his sadness. And, more importantly, his happiness before then.

He managed to keep his composure, but he refused to look his mother in the eyes. “Well, h-he said we can’t be friends anymore,” he kept his voice quiet. That part wasn’t entirely a lie; he was almost certain that the implication in Kageyama’s voice was that they couldn’t be friends anymore.

“So, why are you sending Natsu notes from ‘Kageyama’?”

“Just because I miss him doesn’t mean she has to,” he replied simply, his voice still quiet, like if he spoke louder he would break down and cry.

Something about that broke Hinata’s mother’s heart, and she let her elbows come to rest on the table. “You know what I think, Shouyou?”

“What’s that,” Hinata mumbled casually, having already picked up his pencil again and leaned over his textbook.

“I think you’re a great big brother, and a great friend. If Kageyama-kun can’t see that—”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s his loss,” Hinata finished the statement for her.

“No,” she shook her head. “He means more to you than that. Make him see how great you are.”

Hinata blinked. “That’s not such a good idea.”

“Well, why not?”

“Um, some…things happened. With…uh, kissing?” What was Hinata saying?!

Hinata’s mother went quiet for a second. “Do you mean that Kageyama kissed a girl you like, or something?”

“Uh, yeah,” Hinata scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. The team manager, uh, Yachi. I’ve talked about her before, I think.”

“Oh! The little blonde girl?”

“That’s her, yeah.”

“And then he said he didn’t want to be friends with you anymore?”

“Oh, well…” Hinata felt his cheeks get hot. He hated lying to his mom, and he certainly hated that Kageyama had made him conjure up this stupid lie. (He didn’t hate Kageyama. Kageyama didn’t make him lie to his mom; his fear of how his mom reacted did.) “You see, it’s…a little more complicated than that…”

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it,” Hinata’s mother said calmly. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Kageyama seems to make you really happy, you know?”

Hinata blushed and gripped his pencil harder, pretending to be concentrating on his homework. “I have to finish this,” he mumbled guiltily, and his mother rose from the table and left him at the table after ruffling his hair.

“Let me know if you have questions on your homework,” she said over her shoulder. “I _did_ take English classes all through university.”

“Yeah yeah,” Hinata grumbled, mainly to himself. The huge, disgusting lie he’d told his mother sat like an acid bubble in his stomach, and he felt a strange resentment toward Kageyama that he hadn’t before. Why did they have to stop being friends outright? They’d had fights before, but the result was always them being friends again. What was the difference in this situation?

Hinata wasn’t stupid. (He was, but not about this.) Of course this would be different – it’s hard to go back to a normal friendship after having sucked face with the other on multiple occasions. To be fair, though, Kageyama had started it. Hinata was just trying to end it. And, in doing so, he ended their entire friendship.

Those thoughts, passing blame between himself and Kageyama like a volley in his head, persisted. Every time he saw Kageyama, depending on who held the blame, he either wanted to leap into his partner’s arms and apologize or slam Kageyama’s stupid face into a wall. However, despite those strong feelings, there was also another that really, _really_ wanted to kiss him again.

Hinata supposed that was the biggest reason he avoided Kageyama at school. His bipolar nature was a handful, but at least then they could talk through what happened. Hinata feared that if he stayed in the same general vicinity as Kageyama for too long he’d crumble and kiss him again, and that alone was enough to persuade him to stay far, far away from his setter.

 _Damn it, he’s not_ my _setter!_

That’s why he spent so much time practicing with their first-year setter, Tetsu. He was quiet and nice enough, certainly not the most attractive guy ever (though even if he was Hinata doubted he’d be swayed from his feelings toward Kageyama). Tetsu laughed at Hinata’s jokes, too. That was a plus. Kageyama had never done that before.

After seeing Kageyama cornered by Tanaka and Nishinoya, an immense guilt washed over Hinata. Especially after seeing the terror in his eyes. So, he thought of the best way to handle the situation, and before Tanaka and Noya could leave the two of them alone, he dashed off. He usually practiced with Tetsu in the gymnasium during lunch, now that he and Kageyama didn’t eat together, and that day Hinata had no intentions of making an exception.

Until he wished he had. Until Kageyama walked in, locking his eyes with Hinata’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! I have absolutely no concept for where this is going from here, so it may turn into a mess at some point...but I hope you'll stick with me while I try to figure out where I want this fic to go!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shut up for a minute,” Kageyama barked, and for once, Hinata listened. Kageyama sighed and rubbed his fingers to his temple. “Listen, I don’t know what’s up with you but—”
> 
> “What’s up with me?” Hinata matched Kageyama’s angry tone. “You’re the one who said what we were doing was weird and needed to stop. This isn’t my fault.”
> 
> “Yes it is!” Kageyama yelled back. “It is! I never said we should stop being—you know, friends…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thanks so much for being patient with me while I wrote this chapter! A few times I got stuck trying to decide where I wanted the story to go, so I decided I should throw a curve-ball at the end. It may not be the best chapter I've written, but at least it's a chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Hinata laughed. But it wasn’t his usual chipper laugh; no, he sounded bitter and a little annoyed, and the sound didn’t suit him at all. Kageyama almost said such, until he saw Tetsu come out of the back room carrying a volleyball under each arm. “Oh, Kageyama senpai!” he waved, completely unaware of the tension between the two second-years.

Hinata stepped in front of Tetsu and grabbed a volleyball from him. “Thanks, Tetsu,” he said, trying to force that sunny smile onto his face, but anyone who knew Hinata for more than an hour could tell it was fake. Tetsu nodded, then walked over to where Kageyama stood at the door.

Kageyama made a mental note to remember his name this time. “What is it?” he asked in his usual rough tone, causing the first year to flinch, but he didn’t stop his pursuit.

“Will you show me a few moves, Kageyama senpai?” he asked hopefully, thrusting the other volleyball he carried into the latter’s hands. Kageyama looked down at it, then back up. “Please? I want to be able to set to everyone on the team the way you do!”

“Good luck with that,” Kageyama scoffed, passing the ball back into Tetsu’s hands.

“Please, senpai,” Tetsu said more insistently. “I know I’m not as talented as you by any means, but I want to be able to hold my own on this team. Right now I’m just average, but with your help I might be able to get better!”

Tetsu was right – he was just average. Watching him practice, Kageyama guessed he was the type who went to a middle-of-the-road type school and by luck found himself as a setter because they needed to fill the position. “Fine,” he agreed finally, and Tetsu tossed the volleyball back to him. “But only for fifteen minutes. I have to—um—go meet with my teacher.” Kageyama inwardly cringed at himself. _God, that isn’t a good excuse at all!_

In reality, he wanted to set a time limit on how long he could go inside a gymnasium with just Hinata and Tetsu. Without Tetsu there keeping his full attention, he’d probably find himself thinking weird (and possibly sinful) thoughts about Hinata, about how he’d so carelessly thrown himself into Kageyama’s lap—

Ah, like that. Like those thoughts.

He shook his head, trying to force the thoughts away. Hinata watched the exchange with a nervous frown on his face, wondering how he could continue to avoid Kageyama if he was going to be practicing with them. “Hinata,” Kageyama called to him, as if he read the boy’s mind, and Hinata leapt into the air in surprise. “Tetsu will set to you. Second tempo.”

They’d gotten much more accustomed to tempos once Hinata became a more prominent spiker and less prominent decoy. A few hand signals – or, occasionally, no signals at all – and they could read each other’s minds on the court. Off the court, though, Kageyama became more and more of a puzzle to Hinata. Still, rather than dedicate time to figuring it out now, Hinata prepared to spike. Tetsu had gotten better in the time they practiced, but Hinata feared that under Kageyama’s gaze he wouldn’t perform as well.

His worries were proven right when Hinata tossed the ball up and it hit Tetsu in the face.

“Again,” Kageyama said quietly. Hinata wondered how long it would take before Kageyama started yelling.

He got his answer soon enough; three failed tosses later, Kageyama yelled something about form. Tetsu tensed even more than he already was, and Kageyama sighed, shaking his head. “Nerves will keep you out of the game,” he barked. “Get them under control before you ask me for help.”

Kageyama turned and grabbed his bag and left the gymnasium, not even listening to Tetsu’s slue of apologies. Hinata seemed like he was ready to yell after him, and Kageyama hesitated at the door, just to see; but his voice never came, and so Kageyama left.

* * *

Afternoon practice went about as well as Kageyama could have expected, especially after the incident at lunch. During their team scrimmages, his and Hinata’s freak quick was so far off the mark that Ukai threatened to put Tetsu in Kageyama’s place, and Tanaka and Nishinoya’s glares practically shot daggers at the setter, as if to say “you promised it wouldn’t affect your quick”. Meanwhile, Hinata seemed perfectly content with acting like nothing was wrong, which irritated Kageyama even more than his failure to perform well.

So, after practice, he grabbed the boy by his wrist and dragged him around the side of the club room building. Everyone else went upstairs while they hung back. “What’s this all about?” Hinata huffed. “You look like you’re trying to kidnap me.”

“Shut up for a minute,” Kageyama barked, and for once, Hinata listened. Kageyama sighed and rubbed his fingers to his temple. “Listen, I don’t know what’s up with you but—”

“What’s up with me?” Hinata matched Kageyama’s angry tone. “ _You’re_ the one who said what we were doing was weird and needed to stop. This isn’t my fault.”

“Yes it is!” Kageyama yelled back. “It is! I never said we should stop being—you know, friends…” he slowly drifted off, looking anywhere but Hinata. A blush coated his cheeks as he admitted to thinking of himself as a friend of Hinata’s.

Hinata, on the other hand, stared blankly up at Kageyama. Finally, after what felt like ages, he spoke. “Friends?” he asked, in a slightly bitter tone. “I thought we were rivals.”

“Rivals can’t be friends too?” Kageyama shot back, that intimidating tone seeping through again.

“Friends don’t make out with each other then act like it didn’t happen!” Hinata yelled.

The statement hung in the air between them as they caught their breath from the yelling. Both of them wore bright blushes and angry scowls. Kageyama thought idly that it really didn’t suit Hinata to be scowling like that; it caused nasty wrinkles to crease his forehead. He more than anything wanted to reach out and rub them away, as if they were smudges of dirt clinging to his forehead.

“What are we, then?” Kageyama asked softly. He almost thought a third person had asked the question, but no, it sounded like him. He hardly registered saying it, though.

Hinata sighed and looked down at his feet, scuffing his toes in the dirt. “We’re teammates,” he said finally, as if that was the answer either of them were looking for.

“I still want to kiss you,” Kageyama said, and immediately he regretted it. He chewed on his lip nervously, looking away. “I mean—I know I said it was weird, but—”

“I do, too,” Hinata said just as quietly. “That’s…why I’ve been avoiding you.”

“Oh.”

An awkward silence settled between them as Kageyama contemplated what to do with this new information. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely registered when Hinata spoke again.

“Do you think we could…try it?” he asked, sounding almost hopeful. “Like, being friends and…you know. Kissing.”

“It’s still weird,” Kageyama grunted, and Hinata hung his head. “But…maybe it’s okay. You know, if we don’t tell anyone.”

Hinata smiled, and god, did Kageyama forget how much he missed that. The smaller boy collapsed into him, grabbing his practice shirt and clinging to him, letting his head fall into Kageyama’s chest. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured sheepishly as he toyed with the fabric.

Hesitantly, Kageyama wrapped his arms around Hinata’s back. “I…missed you, too,” he admitted shyly.

* * *

They resumed their early-morning and late-night practices shortly thereafter. They also practiced through lunch, but Tetsu usually accompanied them, even despite Hinata whining that Kageyama probably scared him off. The freak duo fell back into a natural rhythm, ensuring to the team that everything was back to normal.

But it wasn’t, not in the slightest.

During their early morning practices, Hinata would jump up and steal short kisses from Kageyama after a particularly good hit. In the evening, after everyone else went home, Kageyama would grab the collar of Hinata’s shirt – the way he did when he yelled at the boy and wanted him to hear _very_ closely – and press their lips together. It started as a rare occurrence. They were careful, only doing it when there was absolutely nobody who could see them. Kageyama would position himself with his back to the door so if someone happened to peek in, all they’d see was him bending down and they wouldn’t see Hinata. As time went on and they realized they didn’t need to be so careful, though, they almost became careless.

They were on their way home after their late-night practice when Ukai saw them sharing a meat bun on the bench outside his shop. He thought nothing of it – his players’ personal lives didn’t concern him, after all – until he _swore_ he saw Kageyama lean in and kiss Hinata. He rubbed his eyes in surprise, glanced around his shop to see if maybe anyone in there had seen the event, but no. He was the only witness.

His mind reeled. How did he handle this situation? It most certainly wasn’t his place to have _that_ talk with the two of them, but did he tell them not to do anything stupid in the gymnasium? Was that his job? Did he tell the team captains?

But, as quickly as it happened it was over, and he let himself relax, if only a little. He thought maybe it would be best to forget it ever happened.

Hinata leapt up from the bench and stretched his arms. “You should be more careful doing that,” he chided gently.

“You had a piece of rice on your face!” Kageyama replied in a biting tone, but the bright blush on his cheeks betrayed his annoyance. Hinata laughed and continued walking, not turning to see if Kageyama would follow, because he knew he would.

Kageyama rose from the bench and walked beside Hinata, keeping a fair amount of distance between them. “Do you want to come over?” Hinata asked while they walked.

Kageyama thought for a minute. “Well, my parents are working late,” he thought aloud, “so if I went home I’d have to cook myself dinner…”

“My mom will cook!” Hinata said quickly. “She misses you, you know.”

Kageyama hadn’t been to Hinata’s house since the day following the tournament matches. His face contorted in a mix between embarrassment and arousal thinking, once again, about the way Hinata so recklessly threw himself into Kageyama’s lap that day. So far, while they tested the waters on whatever this relationship was, they’d been careful not to go too far. Kageyama idly wondered if Hinata planned on breaking that unspoken rule tonight.

When they stepped inside, Hinata could barely call out that he brought Kageyama before Natsu bounded through the room, leaping up in the air with all the trust in the world that Kageyama would catch her. And he did, swirling her around for good measure, that rare smile peeking through his stoic features. She screamed with delight and reached out to tug on his hair.

Hinata’s mother looked up from her spot on the couch and smiled warmly to Kageyama. “Hi, Tobio!” she said in a chipper tone. “Natsu really missed having you around.”

“Thank you for the notes!” Natsu giggled, kicking her feet.

“Notes…?” Kageyama mumbled, looking over at Hinata. “Do you know—”

“Oh wow look at the time!” Hinata said quickly. “Natsu, Kageyama is here to study. Maybe this weekend he can come over and we can play volleyball!”

“Yay!” she squealed as Kageyama let her down.

“Deciding my weekend plans for me?” Kageyama teased.

“You _will_ come play volleyball, right, Tobio chan?” Natsu asked with big, round eyes.

Kageyama shot a quick glare to Hinata. “Of course,” he said down to Natsu, ruffling her hair.

“I’m glad to see you two worked it out,” Hinata’s mother said with a gentle smile. “Shouyo really missed you, Tobio.”

“Mom!” Hinata flushed, and Kageyama hid a snicker behind his hand.

Not a few moments later, Hinata grabbed hold of Kageyama’s hand and pulled him towards his bedroom, an embarrassed blush staining his cheeks. Kageyama probably would have commented on it if he didn’t wear a similar look of embarrassment, especially considering what tended to happen in Hinata’s bedroom. Hinata shut the door behind them, and Kageyama stood, watching as the boy crossed the room and threw himself onto his bed like he tended to do.

Hinata landed face down with his head in his pillow and groaned. “Kageyama,” he whined.

“What?” Kageyama barked back, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I need to tell you something.”

“Okay?”

“It’s kind of bad.”

“Spit it out, dumbass!”

Hinata finally sat up, knotting his fingers in his hair as he rolled over to face his setter. (The prospect of scolding himself for addressing Kageyama mentally as _his_ setter dissipated the second they became “friends with kissing-type benefits”.) “I’ve been writing notes to Natsu from you because she missed you.”

Kageyama blinked. That was…really, _really_ cute. “Oh,” he breathed, looking down at his hands in hopes to avoid Hinata seeing how flustered he was getting.

“I’m sorry!” he cried. “She just missed you so much, and I thought it might help but now she’s been having a conversation with me and thinking it was you and—” he inhaled sharply, having forgotten how to breathe momentarily. “I just feel really guilty about it.”

“It’s okay,” Kageyama replied. “It’s…kind of cute.” _Really cute,_ his brain supplied helpfully.

Hinata huffed in relief, grabbing at his heels as he sat up, leaning closer to Kageyama. “Do you want to read them?” he asked.

“Oh,” Kageyama felt his face heating up even more. “Can I?”

Hinata pulled a shoebox out from underneath his bed, which was almost full of cute little notes on multicolored paper. Kageyama wondered, in the few weeks they hadn’t been speaking, how the two had exchanged so many notes. It was…endearing. Hinata dug his hand into the box carefully so he wouldn’t wrinkle any of the papers. He pulled out a note in the shape of a flower. “Natsu asked me to cut this out for her,” he explained softly. “It’s my favorite so far.” He placed it delicately into Kageyama’s hands.

Kageyama opened it and felt his heart melt at the sight of Natsu’s messy handwriting. Despite his scary demeanor that tended to scare away children, he had something of a soft spot – only for a select few kids in his life, though, such as Natsu and…well, just Natsu.

After he finished translating misspelled words and slightly messy grammar, he found the note was a story about Natsu’s art project at school, where she made a finger painting of a flower. He smiled reading the note, his face relaxing from its usual frown. Eventually, after reading and re-reading the note, Hinata reached to take it out of his hands. “If you can’t read just say so,” he said with a snicker.

Kageyama reached over and grabbed a fistful of Hinata’s hair, causing the latter to squeal in pain. “I know how to read, dumbass!” He relaxed his grip and handed the note back. “I just think it’s sweet, is all.”

“There’s more than one,” Hinata gestured back to the box. “You can read them all, if you want.”

“What about my responses?” Kageyama asked.

“Oh—uh, Natsu has those ones,” Hinata rubbed his neck sheepishly.

Kageyama gave him a suspicious look, but he turned his attention back to the card box and rifled through, opening another card at random. This one told a story about a field trip Natsu went on to an aquarium. There were several fish doodles and some noodles drawn along the bottom (Hinata had to explain that they were actually seaweed).

He read and re-read every note in the box, remaining silent as he did, which infuriated the boisterous Hinata sitting next to him. Eventually Hinata moved so he could rest his chin on Kageyama’s shoulder and re-read the cards with him. From that angle, he could barely see the soft smile creeping its way onto Kageyama’s face while he read the notes.

“Can we do something else now?” Hinata whined when Kageyama finished reading the last note and packed them back into the box.

“Like what?” Kageyama’s scowl returned in an instant, and he glared over at Hinata.

“Um!” Hinata squeaked. “I-I don’t know, um…”

The blush spreading across Hinata’s cheeks told Kageyama he most _certainly_ knew what he wanted to do. Kageyama smirked; he enjoyed not being the flustered one for a change. He reached out, cupping Hinata’s jaw, his lips getting slowly closer to Hinata’s. “Did you want to…” his voice dropped to a low tone. “…kiss me?”

Hinata’s eyes went wide, his cheeks turning red, before he burst out laughing.

“What?!” Kageyama scowled deeper, blushing just as deeply as Hinata.

“Oh god,” Hinata wiped a tear away. “You’re just—ah, you’re trying too hard to be sexy!”

Kageyama blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You’re sexy when you don’t try,” Hinata replied without thinking, and it took approximately three full seconds before he realized what he said and threw a hand over his mouth in embarrassment. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean it like—”

“You think I’m sexy?” Kageyama asked dumbly.

“U-um, yes! But only if that’s okay.”

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

“I don’t know!” Hinata buried his face in his palms, groaning.

“Well, did you want to kiss me or not, dumbass,” Kageyama said bluntly, reaching to move Hinata’s palms away from his face.

“Y-yeah,” Hinata mumbled feebly, still blushing.

“You’ve done more embarrassing things before, I don’t see why this is so embarrassing,” Kageyama stated just as bluntly. Hinata looked up at him, maybe a little horrified.

“Because I just admitted you’re _sexy_ ,” he whispered.

“And?” Kageyama replied, obviously not seeing the humiliation that Hinata felt. “I think you’re sexy, otherwise I wouldn’t want to kiss you.”

Hinata flushed even more and grabbed for a pillow to throw in front of his face. “Bakageyama!” came his muffled voice behind the pillow.

It wasn’t that Kageyama didn’t think Hinata should be embarrassed about thinking Kageyama was sexy – in fact, he probably should be – but something about being alone with Hinata made it okay. Something about only Hinata knowing Kageyama thought he was sexy felt okay to him, and he assumed the same would be applicable the other way around. “Hey,” he pulled the pillow away from Hinata’s face. “I’m only okay with it if you’re the only one who knows,” he clarified. Maybe that would help Hinata’s nerves.

“But…” Hinata thought about it for a moment, refusing to look at Kageyama while he contemplated. “I mean, I guess it’s okay…”

It felt weird listening to Hinata act like this. Sure, Hinata had expressed embarrassment before, but every time he had in the past it had been a loud and obnoxious embarrassment, a yelling of apologies and a scrambling to get out of the situation. Now, though, Hinata was quiet and small, like he wanted to melt into the floor beneath him. He decided he didn’t like it as Hinata’s eyes wandered his room, refusing to settle on Kageyama.

“Is it?” Kageyama asked, and Hinata nodded quickly, looking down at his hands.

“Yes,” he mumbled.

“I can pretend it never happened,” Kageyama offered, but he knew full well that he wouldn’t be able to forget those words. He could, however, _pretend_ to forget. That seemed to intrigue Hinata, though, because he looked back up at Kageyama.

“Please,” he said quietly, but with the way Hinata stared at Kageyama’s lips, Kageyama thought maybe the boy was asking for something else.

He moved closer out of instinct, his eyes dropping to Hinata’s lips. “Please what?” he asked softly.

“Um,” Hinata replied smartly.

When their lips connected, it was unlike any of the other times they’d kissed. Something sparked – in a completely not-cheesy romantic type way – and they each drew back, but only for a moment. When their lips came together again, Kageyama’s hands feverishly wound underneath Hinata’s shirt, and Hinata’s delicate fingers threaded their way through Kageyama’s hair. Something had snapped, it felt like, and when Hinata’s tongue grazed Kageyama’s lip the latter groaned, pulling Hinata into his lap as he parted his lips.

Each time they pulled away from each other it was to gulp in more air before they crashed into each other again, tongues melding and wet, blatantly sexual sounds erupting from within each of them. They were quiet – at least as much as they could be – knowing that Hinata’s mother and Natsu could likely hear them if they got too loud. But the prospect of someone walking in and catching them hadn’t really occurred to them.

Well, at least, until Natsu asked from the doorway, “Nii chan?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! All your kind comments keep me writing for these two volleyball dorks. <3 if you're looking for more of my works to read, you can also find me on tumblr (same username - yamayamawrites)!


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